100 dinners given to Tustin families in need

Tustin police Sgt. Jeff Taylor greets Joaquin Ortiz, 6, who was picking up a Thanksgiving dinner with his mom Araceli Rivera, at right, at the Tustin Family and Youth Center on Wednesday. One hundred families in need were given free turkey dinners by Tustin police who raised money for the meals.MINDY SCHAUER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Thanksgiving Day meals

TUSTIN Starting at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, families began arriving at the Tustin Area Family and Youth Center to receive a free Thanksgiving dinner.

Center coordinator Barbara Guerrero arrived at the center at 7 a.m. Wednesday and began making coffee for people waiting outside the center.

The tradition began five years ago, when Tustin Police officers first handed out Thanksgiving dinners to families in need who had been identified by officers or by employees at the Tustin Area Family and Youth Center. Now, people line up early, eager for a chance to visit with other families and pick up a holiday meal.

Richard Sales of Tustin came to the center after getting off work at 8:30 a.m. He brought his son, Damian, 4, to pick up the meal that will feed six family members on Thanksgiving. Sales was unemployed for about three years before he was hired to drive a forklift nights in Anaheim.

"We're trying to do the best we can to survive," Sales said. The dinner, he said, "is very helpful."

This year, before any dinners were given out, the families, center employees and Tustin Police officers sang "Happy Birthday" to Loralee Mendoza, who would have been 15 this year. Loralee, who had pulmonary hypertension, regularly attended the center and helped with the younger children. She died earlier this year. Sgt. Jeff Taylor held a bullhorn for Mendoza at age 13, who read from "ThanksgivingÃ¯Â¿Â½ is for Giving Thanks" by Margaret Sutherland and Sonja Lamut.

The officers raised $3,000 through the Tustin Police Association and private donations to pay for the 100 meals by HoneyBaked Ham, each containing turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy and stuffing.

"It's an opportunity to create positive interactions with folks," Taylor said. This year, the officers also are delivering three meals to people who are homebound and called the department to request the dinners.

Anita Hamblin of Tustin will fix dinner for her 26-year-old son before she starts her care-giving shift at midnight. She came down to the center on Wednesday with her friend Myron Brown.

Brown doesn't have family in California, so she'll be volunteering Thanksgiving Day serving a meal to people in need from noon to 5 p.m. at Peppertree Park at 230 W. First St. in Tustin. The best part of events like this, she said, is meeting new people.

"I think this is what it's all about when we talk about community governance, our method of policing," said Capt. Steve Lewis of the Tustin Police Department.

"The impact is the same from the very first time seeing the need of the community," Lewis said. "It's moving. It's touching."

Tustin police Sgt. Jeff Taylor greets Joaquin Ortiz, 6, who was picking up a Thanksgiving dinner with his mom Araceli Rivera, at right, at the Tustin Family and Youth Center on Wednesday. One hundred families in need were given free turkey dinners by Tustin police who raised money for the meals. MINDY SCHAUER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Richard Sales and his son Damian, 4, wait for their free Thanksgiving dinner donated by members of the Tustin Police Department on Wednesday. MINDY SCHAUER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Tustin Police Officer Matt Nunley, center, and Sgt. Jeff Taylor, at right, hand out free Thanksgiving dinners to 100 families in need in Tustin. It is the fifth year officers have raised money for the meals. MINDY SCHAUER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Sgt. Jeff Taylor and his team receive a thank you card from an appreciative resident while handing out Thanksgiving dinners to families in need at the Tustin Family and Youth Center on Wednesday. "Thanks for making my Thanksgiving a good one," it read in part. MINDY SCHAUER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Sgt. Matt Nunley talks to a group of families before he and other Tustin police officers hand out free Thanksgiving dinners. The families in need are identified by employees at the Tustin Family and Youth Center and by police officers who patrol the apartments and neighborhoods of Tustin. MINDY SCHAUER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
While Tustin police officers pose for pictures before handing out free Thanksgiving dinners to families in need, 3-year-old Kimberly Hernandez has the patience of an angel. Sgt. Jeff Taylor said "whenever we have an opportunity to interact in a positive way," it's good for community relations. MINDY SCHAUER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
As Jeff Taylor of the Tustin Police Department holds the megaphone, Loralee Mendoza, 12, of Santa Ana, reads a Thanksgiving story to the approximately 150 families gathered in 2010 for Thanksgiving dinners given by the Tustin Police Department, at the Tustin Family and Youth Center on Newport Boulevard in Tustin. MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
In 2010, Loralee Mendoza, 12, of Santa Ana, holds the book that she read to the approximately 150 families gathered for Thanksgiving dinners given by the Tustin Police Department, at the Tustin Family and Youth Center on Newport Boulevard in Tustin. MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Thanksgiving dinners wait to be handed out as Jeff Taylor of the Tustin Police Department holds the megaphone for Loralee Mendoza, 12, of Santa Ana in 2010. Loralee read a Thanksgiving story to the approximately 150 families gathered at the Tustin Family and Youth Center on Newport Boulevard in Tustin. MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Loralee Mendoza, pictured at age 7, suffered from a severe heart condition and died in September. She would have been 15 this week. Visitors, staff and police officers sang "Happy Birthday" for Laura Lee on Wednesday morning, outside the Tustin Family and Youth Center. FILE PHOTO

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